On the evening of Friday, March 27, 2020, former WRRC Director William Lord passed away. He had retired from UA and was living in Boulder, Colorado. At UA, he was a professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Hydrology and Water Resources (now Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences).
January 07, 2015
Challenged but Unbroken: Sustaining the Colorado River
The Colorado River Basin blankets a 246,000 square mile area that includes parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of the states of Baja and Sonora Mexico.
Water delivered from the Colorado River serves nearly 40 million municipal and industrial customers, 22 Native American tribes and more than 6 million acres of irrigated agriculture. In addition 7 wildlife refuges, four national recreation areas and 11 national parks depend on the river for vital water supplies.
The Colorado River system is stretched to its limit: over allocation, drought, climate change and ever increasing demands mean that actions must be taken now to prevent harmful future shortages. Water managers have been and will continue to work with the US Department of the Interior, the Basin tribes, environmental groups and our neighbors in Mexico to create and implement new solutions for the range of serious challenges facing the Basin.
This beautifully crafted, 9-minute video, written and produced by Central Arizona Project and Studio 522 Productions, Inc, compels all Colorado River water users to take action to ensure the sustainability of this vital resource. Conservation, cooperation and wise water planning are crucial as is continued significant investment in the Basin’s wide range of assets.
Watch this informative video to find out more about the basin.
Recent News
April 03, 2020
Water Your Home
Are you working from home and contemplating the wonders of water? Beyond being very grateful for our clean tap water and our efficient wastewater systems during this stressful time, we can re-energize our moods by implementing some home water innovations and strategies. Here are a few ideas and resources to help get you started or remind you of that "water to do list" you left at the office.
March 30, 2020
Past WRRC Annual Conference Presentations Available Online
Our 2020 conference has been postponed, but don't let that stop you from heading to our website to check out the presentations from our previous annual conferences. The agendas for conferences held from 2015 to 2019 have links to videos and PowerPoint presentations. These conferences covered topics like scarcity, challenges, and community-based solutions; the business of water; Indigenous perspectives; and more.
Click on the links below to access the agendas.
March 23, 2020
Shared Water Well Guidance from UA Extension
In February, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension released "A Guide for Operating Shared Water Wells In Arizona" authored by Gary Hix and Dr. Janick Artiola.
March 20, 2020
WRITING INTERNSHIP - SUMMER 2020
The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center is offering a paid summer internship for a student who wants to gain experience writing about environmental and water issues. The selected intern will contribute to research and writing for an issue of Arroyo, the annual WRRC publication that focuses on a critical Arizona water issue. Arroyo is recognized as a source of objective, accurate and understandable information and reaches a wide audience that includes policy makers and water professionals as well as the interested public.
March 16, 2020
New Article Examines Arizona's Water Credit Transactions
Doctoral student and WRRC alum, Rebecca Bernat, working with Director Sharon B. Megdal and Assistant Director Susanna Eden, has written a groundbreaking article on Arizona's Long-Term Storage Credit (LTSC) water transactions